I sometimes wonder if Chris Pine is a bigger partier than most of us would think. He doesn’t seem to be a regular at all of the “hip” LA spots, but we do get pap photos of him coming out of clubs sometimes, usually for premiere after-parties and celebrations of that short. Maybe he’s an undercover partier. That was my thought when I learned that Pine has gotten a DUI charge in New Zealand. Apparently, he was charged on March 1 and he’s due in court today. He’s been working on Z for Zachariah in NZ, and I guess was partying hard at the wrap party…?

Hollywood actor Chris Pine, known for playing Captain Kirk in the “Star Trek” movies, has been charged with drunken driving in New Zealand. The 33-year-old American is due to make his first court appearance in the case on Monday, court officials said Wednesday.

New Zealand Police said in a statement that a 33-year-old American was charged March 1 with driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, which in New Zealand is .08 percent. Police did not name the man, but said he was stopped during a routine early-morning check near the South Island town of Methven.

Pine’s agent and publicist could not be reached immediately Wednesday for comment.

Pine has been in New Zealand filming the movie “Z for Zachariah,” which is due for release next year. Much of the filming has taken place on the South Island’s picturesque Banks Peninsula.

Casey Crawford, manager of the Blue Pub, a Methven bar, told Christchurch newspaper The Press that Pine was attending a celebration at the bar on the night of Feb. 28 to mark the end of filming and was accompanied by his Icelandic girlfriend, Iris Bjork Johannesdottir.

Pine was drinking beer and did not appear intoxicated before leaving at about 2:30 a.m., Crawford said, adding that Pine had obliged locals who wanted their photo taken with him.

“He looked like he just wanted to spend time with his partner,” Crawford told the newspaper.

Crawford said the party was well-controlled. “Chris was really good. They were a good crowd, the whole lot of them,” he said.

Crawford said the bar offered patrons transportation home. In addition to playing Capt. James T. Kirk, Pine also played Jack Ryan in the movie “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.”

Over the .08 limit… for a man of Chris’s height and weight, I would think that would be maybe three or four beers within two hours? Maybe a tequila shot thrown in there too. The sad part of the story is that other people offered to drive him home (which I imagine would have been back to his hotel). I do wonder why he didn’t have a car and driver? Oh well. What happens in New Zealand won’t stay in NZ. I’m disappointed in him, but it makes me wonder if he’s more of a mess than I’ve previously thought.

I read on another site that not only did he get offers from others, the bar itself had a DD service. he may have thought he was fine but limits are so low nowadays, why does anyone even take the chance?
There is no excuse for this…knobhead.

@Lindy:
I think most men think they are fine to drive and don’t realise how a few drinks can tip you over the limit.

An example, when my ex and I were living in Japan (with a much lower limit too) we attended a party and I was the designated driver. However, we were there late and I wasn’t feeling too hot and my ex offered to drive telling me he was ‘fine’. He didn’t slur, walk funny, or anything. Thre was nothing to indicate he wasn’t fine. However, I declined just to be on the safe side (we were in a foreign country and he was up for promotion). As luck would have it, the military was performing breath checks upon entering the base. I passed but for fun had them check my ex too and, as it turned out, he was well over the limit (like a lot). He was floored because none of his actions indicated he might be over.

So I’d give him the benefit of the doubt this one time as he probably and honestly thought he was well under the limit.

I’m always surprised when people are like “they offered him a ride home, why didn’t he take it”. Usually, these drunks don’t think they are too impaired to drive…Drunk driving ALWAYS pisses me off and I think the law should be NO drinking and driving, as in, if you have even one drink, you CANNOT drive…also, am I the only one who thinks this guy has zero appeal?

I agree with everything you say. The idea that a person can decide whether or not that beer has turned them into a lethal weapon on the road is beyond stupid. Its very simple, if you have a beer, even one measley weak one, you stay off the roads. Drink at home if you are too cheap to get a cab.

Exactly…if you are too impaired to drive…aren’t you too impaired to make the decision if you should drive or not…its not rocket science…just common sense…and everyone is different…I am a small woman, and one glass of wine makes me tipsy, so the so-called “legal” limit would be different for me than for a big man…ANY DRINKING…NO DRIVING!

Personally I’m thinking that all cars should have the breathalyzer locks on them.

I can have a glass of wine or a martini and not be drunk or buzzed. 2 and i won’t drive. Not for at least an hour or two-and lots of heavy food.

But i disagree that one beer turns people into a lethal weapon on the road. I had a super close friend of mine killed by a drunk driver. he was drunk drunk-not a one beer “drunk” but he had been drinking and doing drugs for hours. A breathalyzer test on his car would have saved her life. To classify someone who had a single drink with an maniac like the guy who killed her is offensive to me.

If you drink one beer, then you’re pretty much at the .08%. (a drink an hour I think is the rule) At the bar I used to work, there were plenty of times when someone would have just 1 drink and wind up in the back of a police car. I’m not saying that happened here, just that it happens.

You’re exactly right. There’s no excuse for driving drunk. But my friend and I went out to dinner and each had a glass and a half of wine. She got pulled over at a routine stop on the way home, and she was just barely over the legal limit in our state, which is .09. They just lowered it about two weeks before that. So I was driving technically over the limit, too, though I would never have thought so. She was just unlucky enough to get stopped. My point is not that it’s ok to drink and drive. Now I won’t drive if I’ve had more than one glass over a two hour period and some food. My point is just that he probably wasn’t wasted, as people have stated above. He probably thought he was fine. He should have accepted the offer of a ride, no one should drink and drive, but I can’t be too judgy, because up until two years ago, I have done the same thing. I was just lucky enough not to hurt someone or get caught.

I think you’re right. I can’t be judge-y about it either because when I was younger I knew I was over the limit, never drunk mind you, but I’d have a beer and a shot during closing (took at least an hour) and then drive home. Working at a bar, I knew better but I did it anyway because I felt fine. I fully admit to being a young, dumb, LUCKY a-hole. It doesn’t make it right, but it happens more often than people like to admit.

Ironically he’s one of the more educated actors in his age group (degree from Berkley, studied abroad) but it goes to show “book smart” and “street smart” are not the same. If this incident smacks some sense into him, good.

I’m guessing he was driving himself because they seem to be in a pretty remote location and maybe the whole production is low key? Remind me of the cast of Lost in Hawaii and how several of them ended up with DUIs (and then subsequently got killed off!).

My first thought was whether the local police stake out that general location just to bust all those who don’t have the sense to get sober people to drive them home, like they seemed to do for the Losties in Hawaii.

Well that’s unfortunate, especially if the bar offered other transportation. I never understand why for a wrap party, the production just doesn’t transport everyone to and from. They do it every day for filming, why risk anyone drinking and driving at the wrap party?

Yahknow, if I ever became as rich as this (not very good) actor, the FIRST thing I would do is hire a full time driver. I hate driving anyhow, so it wouldn’t be a loss and it would prevent this kind of thing from happening. I have zero sympathy for drunk drivers. He’s as dumb as he appears.

While I do think he made a stupid decision, he’s not stupid. I know a guy who worked closely with him on “Star Trek.” He said not only is he smart, but he’s also very nice. He said he’s a great guy. (He was curiously tight-lipped about Benedict C. and Zachary Q., but that’s another story.)

I do not have sympathy for any drunk driver, including him, but I do think people are ignorant about how little it takes to drive “drunk” (as Good Names pointed out above.)

I probably should have said the reverse — he was curiously chatty about Pine. (He generally is tight-lipped, as is everyone else I know in the business.) He clearly thinks Pine is a great guy, and wondered why I didn’t find him attractive. I think Pine is attractive, but I find him bland, bland, bland.

Why do these actors insist on driving? Just call a cab, ffs, you’ve got the money. Or pick up someone hot and sober to drive you home. Of course Chris Pine had plenty of offers. Is driving onesself some kind of weird badge of honor in celebrity subculture?

It was a wrap party. I mean, who cares about how much fun he had that night. It was a celebration.

He is an idiot for not calling a cab though. As a kiwi we have a terrible drinking culture, and unfortunately drink driving is very common. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of his mates said ‘nah, you’re only just down the road you’ll be fine mate’ or something along those lines.